Performance Today®

Sergei Rachmaninoff didn't give his second piano concerto a nickname, but he might justifiably have called it his Concerto Hypnotica. He wrote it under the influence of hypnotic suggestion, after a particular nasty bout of writer's block. He even dedicated the piece to his hypnotherapist. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes gives a mesmerizing performance of Rachmaninoff's Second, from a concert in Bergen, Norway.

The woodwind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn) has been around for a couple of centuries. One group in particular, though, has been revolutionizing how the music world thinks about quintets. The Imani Winds have been together since 1997, writing much of their own music, and commissioning new works by other composers. As a result, the quintet landscape has forever changed. In today's show, the members of the Imani Winds join host Fred Child in the studio for music and conversation.

Nobody wrote lonely, gut-wrenching, all-alone-in-the-middle-of-the-night music like Dmitri Shostakovich. His music often has an intensity that borders on painful, that puts you outside your comfort zone. Which makes his Symphony Number 9 all the more surprising. Think of it as Shostakovich lite: less angst, fewer calories. Michael Tilson Thomas leads the San Francisco Symphony in Shostakovich's sparkling Ninth Symphony, from a concert in San Francisco.

Music has always been an important part of the film industry. Composers from Erich Korngold to John Williams have made a career of writing for the big screen. Today, in honor of Sunday's Academy Awards, a look at several of this year's crop of nominees that featured music in a pivotal role. Plus, Cesar Franck's much-loved Symphony in D Minor, much-maligned when it premiered. We'll hear a performance by the London Philharmonic.

When you push the envelope, sometimes the envelope pushes back. Early jazz was criticized as lawless, lascivious, even dangerous. In 1921, the Ladies Home Journal wrote that "Unspeakable Jazz Must Go." Apparently, jazz doesn't read the Ladies Home Journal, because it never left. In today's show, we'll explore the permeable boundary between classical and jazz, in works by Darius Milhaud, George Gershwin, and Dave Brubeck.

Nobody wrote lonely, gut-wrenching, all-alone-in-the-middle-of-the-night music like Dmitri Shostakovich. His music often has an intensity that borders on painful, that puts you outside your comfort zone. Which makes his Symphony Number 9 all the more surprising. Think of it as Shostakovich lite: less angst, fewer calories. Michael Tilson Thomas leads the San Francisco Symphony in Shostakovich's sparkling Ninth Symphony, from a concert in San Francisco.

Poet Rita Dove wrote a book about Beethoven, his best friend in 1803, and the piece they premiered together. Beethoven wrote an astonishing sonata inspired by the virtuosity of violinist George Bridgetower. But one night over drinks, the two friends got into a fight. Beethoven took Bridgetower's name off the music, and they never spoke again. Rita Dove has re-imagined their relationship in her book, "Sonata Mulattica." She joins PT host Fred Child to guide us through their story, and through the piece that's become known as Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata.

Today on PT, special music in honor of a few of our 44 Commanders-in-Chief. The inimitable James Earl Jones reads words by Abraham Lincoln, in Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait." We'll tip our caps to Harry S. Truman, perhaps our most musical president. And hear how Ronald Reagan facilitated pianist Vladimir Feltsman's defection from the former Soviet Union. Plus works inspired by U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Bill Clinton.

The Israel Philharmonic has been around since 1936, making it older than the modern-day nation of Israel. In honor of its 75th anniversary, the Philharmonic is embarking on a major American tour, starting this weekend. On today's show, a performance from their home in Tel Aviv, recorded this past week. Music Director Zubin Mehta conducts.